


The Amazing World

by saruma_aki



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Coming Out, Family Drama, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt Barry, Hurt Leonard Snart, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, The Author Regrets Everything, cartoons, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7686439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruma_aki/pseuds/saruma_aki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry thought he was prepared for anything thrown their way when he and Leonard got together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Amazing World

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys!
> 
> I found this little one shot sitting in my folder and I cleaned up a bit and decided to post it.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

Leonard Snart watched cartoons.

When they had gotten together, Barry had been prepared for anything. He had been prepared for vicious fights, for the Rogues coming over, for death threats.

He had been ready for the insanely awkward dinner that would come when he decided to introduce Len to Joe and Iris as someone other than Leonard Snart, also known as Captain Cold, master thief. Or as Len loved to say, robber of ATMs—which sounded more amusing than cool if Barry was being honest. He was pretty sure that was the point, though.

He hadn’t told Cisco and Caitlin yet either, but he figured family should be told first and then friends.

So, when the insanely awkward dinner came after two years together, Barry had been prepared for everything, the awkwardness, the stoic silence, the threats and the questions.

He had not been prepared for the shouting match that ensued, the insults thrown by both Joe and Iris and he knew it was their way of expressing their worry for his well being, but this was Len. They had been together for two years with hardly any problems other than the occasional fight; though they always came back together afterwards with soft words and gentle touches, becoming stronger as a couple.

The worst thing, though, was that he hadn’t been prepared for how it would affect both of them emotionally.

He hadn’t expected how much it would hurt for them not to accept a relationship he was happy with, content with, and safe with. He had tried so hard initially not to fall for the man, but he was everything Barry had ever wanted.

Len was understanding and kind once you got close enough to him. He was protective in the best sense—a silent protector—and he was caring almost to a fault. He knew Barry’s identity as the Flash. He was loyal. He hardly ever lost his patience and he dealt with most situations as rationally as possible.

And Barry had been helpless to stop himself from falling for him.

The best part, though, had been to find out that Leonard returned his feelings.

The rest was easy.

He remembered getting so frustrated during the argument, raising his voice and yelling right back, tears pricking his eyes and streaming down his cheeks which were flushed red in anger and hurt, throat tight.

Why couldn’t they accept it?

Len was a good person. Joe had been the one to tell him that sometimes good people do bad things. Len was one of those people, but both Iris and Joe were refusing to see it.

And then they were all standing, except Len who was sitting quietly, surprisingly, looking tense and like he’d rather be anywhere but there—a sentiment Barry shared at the moment.

And then Iris had slammed her hands on the table and Joe accidentally knocked over the salad bowl and the resounding crack both sounds made at the same time had Leonard shooting up and marching out of the room quickly.

Barry panicked then, glaring at both Joe and Iris and running after Len, fearing he might have left after being so rudely rejected, only to find him in the living room, sitting on the armchair Len had once told him was his favorite, his fingers plugged in his ears and body bent forward, elbows resting on his knees and head tilted downward.

He could hear Len’s hard breathing and when he crouched in front of Len, he could see the way his eyes were squeezed shut, his lips moving slightly, whispering out a count of seconds and short and steady, a complete contrast to his shaky breath and the tremors rocking his body.

A flashback…

Barry cursed Joe and Iris mentally, hoping that it wouldn’t go into a full blown panic attack. He had only helped Len through two of those in the two years they had been together and those left him as unsettled as they did Len. It was terrifying to watch someone you cared about struggling to draw in a decent breath and falling unconscious because he just couldn’t get in the air.

“Len, come on,” he whispered softly, trying to fight his own overwhelming grief at the hypocrisy of his adoptive family. They had said that there was possibly some good in Len whenever Barry brought it up—they had agreed with him, dammit. Both of them had been happy when Lisa and Cisco had gotten together three months ago, praising their relationship, saying what a good thing it was, that Cisco would be good for Lisa.

That was the main reason Barry had thought it would be safe to tell them now—that they would react appropriately.

And yet when it came to Len, it was like it wasn’t possible—even though they had been in a relationship far longer than Cisco and Lisa, not to mention that they had less problems, to top it off.

“Barry,” Joe called from the entrance of the kitchen, Iris standing next to him and both of them looked both disapproving—like they had the right—and guilty—which served them right.

“When you guys can be reasonable and treat us and our relationship with respect, we’ll talk,” Barry hissed, fresh tears leaking out as he took Len’s hand, trying not to break down all anew at the fierce shaking of it and he gripped the hand in his own tightly.

Len’s face was stone hard, their clasped hands tucked safely behind him, his other hand tucked in his pocket, his entire posture radiating tension. Barry could feel the tenseness of the muscles, knew it was an attempt to force the trembling to stop if only for a moment.

“Barry,” Iris tried, but Barry was hearing none of it. Turning around, he wrapped his arms around Len, whispering a soft warning before he was tapping into his super-speed, running them both out of there with their stuff and taking them to their shared apartment.

That night had been terrible, one spent with Barry crying into Len’s chest for hours before passing out in exhaustion, soothed to sleep only by Len’s whispered words of assurance and the soft, broad strokes of Len’s hand on his back, only to wake to the man sitting up in their shared bed, curled in a ball, fingers plugged in his ears, counting seconds, silent tears streaming down his face, lips moving but no sound escaping.

He had spent the duration of the night holding the male.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

The next day, when Barry went to work, he avoided Joe like the plague. He refused to converse with him, or Iris when she showed up—especially not so soon afterwards. He still felt scraped raw, vulnerable like an exposed nerve.

He couldn’t imagine Len was doing much better back at their apartment.

The morning was spent in a blur, his eyes staring blankly at the paper he was supposed to be writing on. He was so not getting anything done that day.

After asking Captain Singh for the rest of the day off, seeing as how he wasn’t working productively, far too worried about Len and his own emotions running far too rampant for him to be of much use, he went home feeling fatigued and relieved all at once.

When he entered their apartment, though, hanging his coat on the rack and leaving his shoes on the shoe rack, he was met with the sight of Len in his pajamas, a simple pair of sweatpants and a black turtleneck. And he was sitting on the floor in front of their television, pillows laid out around him to serve as a makeshift mattress.

There was Chinese takeout on the coffee table that had been pushed aside to make room for the pillows and blankets and Len was curled in a ball under them, laughing at cartoons.

Barry hadn’t been prepared for a sight like that when he returned home.

Two years together and he had never known that Len watched cartoons.

It was surprisingly adorable and Barry was in his sleep clothes in a flash, landing on the pillows next to Len and tugging the male close, pressing a wet, smacking kiss to his cheek.

“You’re back early,” Leonard commented, though there was a small smile on his lips. He looked exhausted—the night without sleep and suffering the effects of a flashback showing clearly on his face—but he looked better, still. Recovered, if only a bit, and it made Barry smile as he tugged Len closer, wrapping his limbs around him and turned his attention to the screen.

“What are we watching?”

“The Amazing World of Gumball,” Len mumbled and he shifted awkwardly, but Barry simply held him tighter, moving them around so that they were leaning back against the couch, his arm around Leonard’s shoulders and Len’s hand on Barry’s thigh, a comforting weight.

“Do you watch this whenever I’m not here?” Barry murmured, turning his head to look and Len and when Len turned his head to look over at him, he pressed a soft pack to soft, pliant lips, feeling his nerves settle as Len smiled a bit.

He had never been happier to take a day off. He was definitely not going out tonight at all, for any reason. Unless the police definitely couldn’t handle it by themselves, Barry was even considering not going out as the Flash tonight.

“Sometimes,” Len admitted, relaxing as he leaned back into the arm around him. “Other times Lisa or Mick come over and make me go out, or we have to plan,” he gave Barry a small wink on the last one, laughing at Barry’s expression.

The sound made Barry feel more at home, the memories of the night before becoming muted in the face of the beautiful domestic bliss he was faced with, here curled up on a pillow mattress with Len.

“I should come home early more often.”

Leonard smiled, eyes fixed on the screen as his thumb gently stroked back and forth on Barry’s thigh. “I wish you were home more,” he mumbled, eyes fluttering shut for a moment as he finally relaxed fully, letting his head roll over to rest on Barry’s shoulder, eyes lazily focused on the screen, watching Gumball berate Darwin for stealing Tobias’ mom.

Who the hell stole a mom as payback for someone not returning a videogame?

Barry smiled, slightly sad, but feeling his heart warm. He’d give anything to be able to spend every waking moment with Len, pressed close to him, enjoying the warmth of being wrapped in his arms. “Me, too,” he whispered softly, turning his eyes to the screen, the smile on his lips refusing to leave no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave me some kudos if you did.
> 
> Also, don't be afraid to leave me some comments with your thoughts!
> 
> Feel free to find me on instagram (@saruma_aki); it's mostly fandom posts and such and I post updates on my stories there, so go ahead and check it out.


End file.
